


More Than A Puppy Love

by megaotaku98



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Aphrodite kid Minho, Apollo kid Chan, Chan is unintientionally kind of an asshole, Getting Together, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, MinChan rise bitch, Minho has an established crush on Chan, Rick Riordan Demigod Universe | Riordanverse, as half-bloods in the series do, chan is an idiot, getting trapped together, sorta - Freeform, tagged because they fight things
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-26
Updated: 2020-08-26
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:00:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,779
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26115331
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/megaotaku98/pseuds/megaotaku98
Summary: Minho's had a crush on Chan for ages. Apparently, Chan already knew about it.
Relationships: Bang Chan/Lee Minho | Lee Know
Comments: 40
Kudos: 251





	More Than A Puppy Love

**Author's Note:**

> Hello hello hello!  
> Once again my expectation for how long it would take me to write a fic was way longer than reality! Luckily it's the very beginning of the semester so I can get away with working on fic instead of homework. Not that I actually even focused a ton on this fic, and the outline had been finished for a while, so here we are!  
> I thought I was gonna wait a few days after the last fic, post the third and final S&S side story, then finish this fic and post it, but I guess that's not how it all worked out lmao  
> Regardless, I hope you enjoy!

Minho would always remember the moment he met Chan. And he would always remember the moment he started crushing on Chan, too.

He met Chan on his first day at camp- Minho had been weary from being chased by empousai for weeks, and when Chan welcomed him to this safe haven for half bloods, Minho wondered if he had met an angel; especially when his legs starts to lose strength and Chan quickly caught him, helping him continue walking over to the infirmary to get some nectar and ambrosia.

He began to crush on Chan the same night he was claimed. It was at one of the bonfires, and Chan was leading the sing along with his guitar, and the way the firelight made his face and hair glow made Minho's heart skip a beat.

Suddenly a red haze surrounded him, and when it cleared he looked completely different. His bangs were swept out of the way, he was wearing a light yet stylish button-down and well-fitting pants that seemed to hug his ass perfectly. Apparently, he'd had makeup on as well, and was told he looked just like an idol. Everyone at camp was staring at him, and Minho had felt very confused as to what was happening. Then he was told he'd been claimed, he was the offspring of the goddess of love, Aphrodite. It felt kind of ironic that it happened right after he started to fall for someone. He wondered if it was on purpose.

That was two years ago, and during those two years Minho learned a lot about himself. He was good at sword fighting, he could charmspeak, he liked makeup, he was terrible at archery, he had a natural affinity for learning French, and skincare nights with his siblings were the BEST.

During those two years Minho also decided to deal with his crush in the best way possible- he befriended Chan and they became very close. This way he could be around Chan always, and not seem creepy about it. Because a person would never question their best friend wanting to be near them all the time, right? And he knew Chan didn't like him back, it was very obvious. And he was okay with that.

Minho tried to hide his crush, and he was pretty sure he was doing a good job of it. At the very least, Chan didn't seem to notice.

Or so he thought.

  
  


"So you wanted help with archery?" 

Minho glanced over and saw Chan walking over- looking like the dreamboat he was as usual.

Minho nodded. "The other Apollo kids gave up on me, told me to just stick with melee. But like, you're _really_ good at it, if anyone can help me surely it would be you!"

Chan let out a laugh.

"I wouldn't say I'm _that_ good-"

"Everyone else says it though."

"...okay yeah but that doesn't mean it's _true_ -"

"Channie just accept it and help me."

"Alright fine, what part are you struggling with?"

Minho sighed, "I think my stance is off. I can get the arrows to fly but they just don't hit the target."

Chan walked over to stand at Minho's side and said "okay, show me what you got."

Minho held up his bow and drew back the string, arrow notched against it.

"Alright, for starters your arms are all wrong," Chan said, walking closer and lightly touching Minho's arms and shifting them, "your shoulders too."

Minho realized the moment it happened that Chan correcting Minho's positioning meant that he was practically pressed against him and in his personal space. He could feel his heartbeat quicken, and he couldn't help but shiver as each touch felt like electricity on his skin. This was quickly backfiring on him.

"There, that's how you're supposed to stand. Put the bow down and draw it again, and try to get to this exact position," Chan stated. 

"O-okay," Minho said, and did as he was asked.

Unsurprisingly, he reverted back to his old stance.

Chan let out a laugh and stepped forward to fix it again, getting back into Minho's space. Minho could _feel_ himself start to blush, and he really hoped Chan didn't notice.

It shouldn't be a big deal, not after all the hugs and fist bumps and cuddles and motivational butt pats (something Chan did with everyone he was friends with). They were friends, Chan touched Minho _all the time_. It shouldn't affect him this much.

But it did, and he shivered again as he felt Chan's breath on his shoulder.

Once Chan pulled away again, he said "okay while you're there, shoot the arrow."

Minho released the string. The arrow hit the target, a perfect bullseye.

"There you go! That was awesome!" Chan cheered, and Minho couldn't hold back the bright smile that stretched across his face. 

He'd never gotten a bullseye before!

"Alright now do it again, we gotta make sure this isn't just a lucky fluke," Chan added with a playful wink.

That wink made Minho's face heat up more, and his brain unhelpfully suggested _'hold it up wrong again'._

_'No'_ , Minho stubbornly told his brain, and tried to hold it up correctly.

He did his best to focus, and followed Chan's instructions. He held up the bow, and shot the arrow. Not a clean bullseye, but very close. Chan let out another cheer, patting Minho roughly on the back.

"Alright great!" Chan praised, "let's try it again."

Minho nodded and quickly drew the bow again. However in his haste, he reverted back to his old form and Chan had to stop him and fix it again.

"Minho you _just_ had it right a few seconds ago!"

"I'm sorryyyy! Could you show me again? Maybe it'll help me get it into muscle memory or something. I'm so used to how I'd been holding it before…"

Chan gave him a curious look.

"You're not purposely holding it wrong so I'll get close to you, are you?" he asked.

"N-no!" Minho stuttered, feeling his face burn again, "I swear I just keep forgetting. I'll just try again."

He relaxed and then drew the bow again.

"Your arm is wrong," Chan chided, walking over to push it up slightly, "you know it really feels like you're doing this on purpose. I mean, I already know you have a crush on me but you're usually way less obvious about it."

"What?!" Minho exclaimed, whipping his head over to gape at Chan. In his panic, his aim shifted and he shot the arrow into the trees, getting yelled at by an annoyed satyr to "watch the aim, idiot!!'

"I-I don't have a crush on you," Minho denied.

Chan snorted. "You absolutely do. I figured it out _ages_ ago."

"How could you have possibly figured it out?" Minho questioned. He thought he'd hid it so well!

"Well you just doubly confirmed it," Chan said, "plus you have a tendency to stare at my mouth more than my eyes when I talk to you, and then space out and don't even hear half of what I say.

Shit. Busted.

"I don't...I don't do it _that_ often…. " 

"Look I'm flattered, really," Chan continued, "it's cute! And I promise I won't let this ruin the friendship we have. You having a crush on me doesn't change the fact that you're one of my best friends, okay?"

"...you sure it's not going to make things weird?" Minho asked, feeling like a flustered mess.

"I'm positive! Nothing is going to change between us," Chan promised, walking over and fondly ruffling Minho's hair, "now how about we keep practicing, and you try to actually hit the target this time- ow, don't kick me! I was only joking!"

  
  
  


It was true that Chan didn't act any differently, now that it was out in the open that Minho liked him. Although since Chan had figured it out himself in the first place, if he was going to act weird he would have done so already.

However, Chan did use this knowledge to tease Minho from time to time, which would make Minho pout and whine "shut uuup that's playing dirty!"

After a while, it actually started to get a little annoying. It started to feel like Chan saw Minho as some kid with a puppy crush- but that wasn't true. It had passed that stage long ago, these were legitimate romantic feelings. Minho was in love with Chan; he dreamed about him, wanted to be the reason he smiled every day, wanted to be held close by him and kissed softly into the night.

It also kind of sucked that Minho wasn't able to confess on his own terms, and instead had it yanked away from him before he was ready. But there was nothing he could really do about that, so he tried not to dwell on it.

Chan also had started acting slightly more affectionate towards Minho, which confused him. What, did Chan like him back somehow? 

No, he couldn't. Minho knew he didn't. He could see it in the way Chan looked at him- the same way he looked at everyone else. 

Halfway into the summer, Chan got picked for a quest, he needed to fetch an artifact from a cave that was guarded by a laistrygonian giant. He could choose one companion for the quest, and he asked Minho to join him. Minho jumped at the opportunity, excited to go out and see more of the country, as well as be able to go on a road trip with his best friend.

They packed up quickly, and departed the next morning. Minho packed his magic sword; a gift he had received from his mother for his birthday the previous year, which shrank down to a pendant on a necklace. Chan had his two bracelets, which turned into a bow and quiver. The cave was located in Kentucky (hidden amongst the Mammoth Caves National Park), so it was a bit of a journey to get there. They were given a large chunk of mortal money to get bus and train tickets as well as food and lodging, given snacks to eat along the way, as well as some drachmas, and some ambrosia and nectar. And then, they were on their way. 

The journey there was actually pretty uneventful. Which was a nice blessing, Minho was worried they would be fighting monsters left and right.

However, as they traveled, Minho started to get a bit frustrated. Frustrated with how Chan was acting.

For starters, he was still making subtle jabs and jokes about Minho's crush. Jokes like "this could be a date, right? Just kidding~" or suggesting they could just get a single bed room at a motel, to which Minho glared at him and insisted to the clerk on a double.

He kept being extra touchy too; putting an arm around Minho's shoulders, holding his hand, putting his hand on the small of Minho's back. Minho couldn't tell if Chan was messing with him or flirting with him and it was _confusing_. He didn't like it.

Chan might not have been aware that he was being a dick. But he was kind of being a dick.

  
  


They finally reached Mammoth Caves and Minho could not be more happy to finally complete the mission and head back home. Chan got the tickets for a cave tour, and about halfway into it they snuck off to a side tunnel that was definitely off limits to other tourists- blocked off with a warning sign about the rocks being unstable or something. Minho couldn't really read it that quickly with his dyslexia before they walked past it.

After a while he could tell they were getting close, because it started to smell _horrible_. Like decaying animals, or maybe decaying humans.

Chan reached out and took hold of Minho's hand. At first Minho wanted to pull away, getting sick and tired of Chan's antics. But despite them having a flashlight, it was pitch black all around the small beam of light, and Minho was starting to feel a little scared. Chan's touch brought him comfort, and he just squeezed back.

Then bones started to appear, gradually increasing in number and piling up. Bones of animals, bones of satyrs, and bones of humans. This wasn't surprising, of course laistrygonian giants would feed on humans or even half-bloods. But it didn't make it any less _terrifying_. They were basically walking into the belly of the beast. 

When they spotted the giant, he was in the middle of munching on a human leg. Minho shuddered, wondering which poor soul had become the monster's prey.

They ducked behind an outcropping wall of rock, hiding just out of sight.

"Okay," Chan whispered, "what's our attack plan?"

"Umm…..you shoot it from a distance and I try to strike up close? I can probably sneak up on him and get a surprise attack" Minho whispered back.

"You could get hurt though…."

"I won't. We both know how good I am at dodging and parrying."

"That's true. Alright, we'll go with your plan. On my signal?"

"Sure."

"Okay."

Chan crept out and placed the flashlight on the ground, far enough away that it wouldn’t get destroyed in the fight but close enough that it gave off enough light for them to still see a fair amount.

The giant didn't notice, as he was facing the opposite wall.

Minho then yanked his necklace off his neck, the magnetic clasp coming undone and the pendant growing into a full size sword. He walked forward quietly, being careful not to step on any bones or loose rocks on the ground.

Closer and closer, step by step, he was a couple feet away-

The giant stopped chewing and lifted his head up, sniffing the air.

"I smell….half-bloods!" he exclaimed,turning around to see Minho who had frozen up where he stood. 

Minho had done tons of training, but there was something very different about going up against the real deal. The fight/flight/freeze response was much more intense. 

"Minho get out of the way!" Chan called out, snapping Minho out of his petrified daze, and he jumped back just in time to miss getting slapped into the ground by the giant's hand.

So much for the element of surprise.

Three shining arrows whizzed over Minho's shoulder, hitting the giant directly in the chest. The giant howled, stepping back for a moment. The low beam from the flashlight revealed the artifact they had come here for; the sword of Peleus, an object that made the wielder victorious in any battle. Definitely something that shouldn't be in the hands of a monster.

The giant picked up some large rocks that were on the ground and set them ablaze, throwing them at Minho. Minho rolled forward, out of the line of fire, and used that opportunity to run up and swing his sword. He would have hoped that the gash his sword made across the giant's torso would have been enough to kill it, but alas, it just left a large cut. It must have hurt though, because the giant once again howled in pain, and Minho quickly jumped away. He spared a moment to glance at Chan, who nodded. They would try the same tactic again; Chan would stun with arrows, Mimho would jump in and strike. They executed the plan, and Minho used both hands on his sword, to make the sword swing harder. This knocked back the giant even more, crashing into the wall of the cave with a loud noise. But it still didn't kill the monster.

However, they all stopped as they heard a noise, like the sound of rocks shifting and cracking. 

Rocks started to fall, and Minho quickly ran to the sword and grabbed it, before he was yanked out of the path of the rockfall by Chan. They saw the giant get crushed, unable to move out of the way in time. 

The quest had been successful. They got the item, and killed the monster.

"You got the sword?" Chan asked, his voice out of breath.

"Yeah. I guess the flashlight got crushed, let's try and feel our way out of here," Minho replied, reaching forward in the pitch darkness to try and feel for the wall of the cave. He slowly moved against the wall, step by step, until he found….the same piece of rock pile he had started from. There was no denying he had felt that smooth crevice before.

"Um. I can't find the exit," Minho said.

"What do you mean you can't find the exit?"

"I mean I've just gone in a big circle. We're trapped."

"....shit. _Shit_."

"Yeah."

“I’ll pray to my dad, see if he can get us out of here.”

Minho flopped down to the ground, tired from fighting and trying not to start hyperventilating at the fact that they were trapped in a pitch black cave and no one would be able to hear them cry for help. He heard Chan sit down as well, a quiet sigh floating through the pitch blackness.

“I suppose this is a small blessing in disguise for you, right?” Chan said.

“What? What are you talking about?”

“You know...us. Together. _Alone_.”

Okay, that was it. That was _it_. 

“You know what Chan, how about you shut the fuck up for once?” Minho spat bitterly, filling his words with charmspeak to make Chan obey without question.

Chan stopped talking immediately, making a confused noise.

“Is this a big joke to you?” Minho continued, “you keep teasing me about my feelings, it’s like you’re holding it over my head and honestly? I’m _sick_ of it. And then you keep acting all touchy and flirty and it’s so goddamn confusing! This isn’t some puppy crush, Chan! I'm not some little kid that's admiring you, so stop treating me like one! _I have feelings for you_. They’re genuine, and they’re deep, and I would like to be taken seriously. Man to man.”

After Minho ended his rant, he waited for Chan to say something. And then realized he was probably still under the influence of the charmspeak.

“You can talk now,” he added.

“I….I’m sorry. I didn't realize. I was honestly just joking around...and I thought you would like me showing little bits of affection,” Chan responded.

Minho rolled his eyes, although he knew Chan couldn't see it in the darkness.

“Oh yeah, the guy I'm in love with who I _know_ doesn't feel the same is flirting with me and leading me on, I'm over the _moon_ about it,” he said, heavy sarcasm in his voice.

“I wasn’t leading you on-”

“You _were_. Not on purpose maybe, but you gave me false hope and you have no idea how much that hurts.”

“Oh.”

It was quiet again, and Minho just sat in his spot, trying to calm down again. The more he thought about it, the angrier he got, and wanted to slap Chan. But Chan at least deserved a chance to further explain himself, a chance to fully apologize.

And even if he was really pissed at Chan, he still loved him.

“I really am sorry,” Chan spoke up again, “I guess looking back...I can see how it was kind of cruel.”

“Uh huh.”

“And you're right. You're a man and I should have given how you feel serious consideration. I guess maybe being older than you, I kind of felt like a mentor? So..I don't know, you seemed more childish than you actually were.”

“I'm a year younger. A single year. That's practically nothing.”

“Yeah...that's a good point. Man...here I was, saying you liking me wasn't going to ruin our friendship, and then _I_ was the one who nearly ruined it. Is there any way you can forgive me?”

“Dunno yet. I accept your apology, but it's gonna take a while for forgiveness.”

“That’s fair. I deserve that.”

“I don’t suppose you’ve gotten anything about getting help?”

“Oh...right. Yeah Apollo doesn’t seem to be listening right now. You could try your mom?”

Ugh. Minho _really_ didn’t want to call his mom. She knew all about Minho’s feelings, of course she did. And every time she talked to him the conversation _always_ shifted to “so have you gotten with that one son of Apollo yet?” It was already tense now between him and Chan, he didn’t want any romantic interference.

However, if they didn’t get out of there soon they would run out of oxygen or die of dehydration, so Minho didn’t really have a choice.

“Yeah fine, I’ll ask her….” Minho said, pinching the bridge of his nose as he closed his eyes and concentrated his thoughts.

_‘Hey, uh, mom? If you’re out there I could really use some help. Kind of a life or death thing, so please get back to me like, immediately. I’m on a quest...with Chan...and we got trapped in a cave with no way out. Please, please help us get out of here.’_

Aphrodite must have been paying attention, because there was suddenly a big poof of flower scented smoke, and then Minho and Chan were both sitting outside in the woods. Minho shielded his eyes from the sun, the sudden light blinding after being in complete darkness for who knows how long.

“Wow, guess your prayer worked,” Chan commented standing up and walking over to Minho, holding out a hand to help him get up too.

“Of _course_ it worked, what kind of mother would I be to let one of my precious children die in such an ugly place?”

Minho let out a sigh.

“Hi mom….” he said, turning to look over at the goddess. 

Aphrodite walked over and gave Minho a warm hug, and he had to admit. It felt really nice. He wasn’t always the biggest fan of his godly parent, but she certainly wasn’t that horrible.

After Aphrodite pulled away, she looked knowingly between Minho and Chan. Minho sighed again.

“Please...don’t,” he said quietly.

Aphrodite frowned, “did something happen?”

Minho gave her a weary grimace, and a look of understanding formed on her face.

“Ah….I see. Well, love is never easy, and it isn’t always kind,” she said, “I’m sure it will all work out in the end. You always have your mother’s blessing.”

“...thanks mom. And thanks for saving us. I don’t suppose you could poof us to camp too?”

“Oh, yes that would be stellar,” Chan added, “we definitely lost our bag under the rubble, and it had the rest of our money.”

“Of course, I’ll get you back home right away,” Minho’s mother said, giving them both a sweet smile, and reaching out to gently brush Minho’s cheek with her thumb, “It’s nice to see you, my son. Take care, you two~”

Aphrodite snapped her fingers, and in a puff of rose colored and scented smoke, they were back at the entrance to camp. Minho still had the sword in his hand, fortunately, and his own sword had reappeared on his neck in necklace form (one of the major perks of magical weapons).

Since they successfully completed the quest, there was a big feast thrown for them, and they got to both burn their shrouds. Minho’s was a beautiful piece of art, covered in flowers that made a circular pastel rainbow. Chan’s was black and gold and covered with sun symbols and miniature bows and quivers.

Burning them was fun.

Chan, surprisingly, gave Minho space the whole night. No hand holding, no shoulder hugging, no hand on his back. It was actually kind of nice. Sure, Minho was in love with the guy but he was also thankful to not be around him for once.

Over the next few months, things went back to normal. Minho did forgive Chan, and they went right back to how they used to be. Great friends who enjoyed hanging out with each other, and nothing more. 

Minho kind of hoped his feelings would fade away, it would make life easier that’s for sure. But they didn’t; and that was fine. He was content being close to Chan and seeing him be happy.

The end of summer came around, and Minho still had one more year of school left before he graduated, so he headed back to the apartment where he lived with his human dad. Chan, who had already graduated, was staying at camp as a year rounder, taking a gap year while he considered if he wanted to go to college or not. They kept in touch via letters, since cell phones were basically a beacon to all monsters in the area.

  
  


The school year went by so quickly, before he knew it he was walking up to the stage to receive his diploma, all done with classes, all done with exams, all done with high school. And to Minho’s surprise, Chan was there! Apparently Minho’s dad had invited him, since he was Minho’s closest friend (and the one he was constantly talking about but Chan didn’t need to know that). Minho ran over as soon as he saw his dad and his best friend, and was given big hugs from the both of them.

“Congrats!! You’re all done!” Chan said, fondly ruffling Minho’s hair.

“Stooop I spent like an hour styling my hair, you’re gonna ruin it!” Minho complained, pouting at Chan.

Chan just laughed at him and ruffled his hair even more.

“So, how about we go to that ice cream place you love to celebrate?” Minho’s dad suggested.

Minho gasped excitedly. “Yes!! Please!! Chan, are you coming too?”

“Yeah, of course! If you don’t mind at least.”

“Of course we don’t mind!” Minho’s dad said, patting Chan on the shoulder.

Suddenly, a tree burst into flames. Minho whipped his head to look at it, and saw another tree spontaneously combust as well.

What the-?

“Is that...is that the Chimaera?!” Chan exclaimed, looking down at the base of the tree.

Minho followed his gaze, and sure enough there was a lion with a goat’s head on her back, and a snake for a tail. 

“Alright kids, ice cream is going to have to wait. I’ll drive you both to camp,” Minho’s dad said, but Minho shook his head.

“You’ll be in danger. Go home dad, it’s only us that she’ll be after. I’ll send you an IM when we’re safe, okay?”

Minho’s dad hugged his son and pressed a kiss to the side of his head. “Be careful kiddo.”

Minho’s dad took off towards his car, and Minho and Chan took off running in the opposite direction. The chimaera followed them, as the two led the monster away from the now terrified crowd of people.

“So, uh, what’s the game plan here?” Minho asked as they ran.

“Just keep running for now!” Chan answered, “I’m gonna try and call the grey sisters taxi service!”

Minho kept running, eventually pulling them into an alleyway to hide. Chan pulled out a drachma and tossed it onto the road, chanting “Stêthi 'Ô hárma diabolês!"

A taxi appeared, made out of smoke. They quickly got in, Chan telling the sisters to take them to Half-Blood Hill as quickly as possible. The sisters seem to take that literally, because Minho had barely tightened the chains around his waist when they took off at what felt like a hundred miles per hour.

They were jostled around as the taxi ignored literally every traffic law that existed, all while the sisters bickered over who got the eye that they shared between the three of them.

Somehow, they managed to make it to Half-blood Hill in one piece.

Unfortunately, the chimaera had somehow managed to follow them, and they barely avoided getting roasted on the spot the moment they exited the smokey vehicle. 

Minho yanked off his necklace, sword growing to full size, and raced forward to attack.

Fighting the chimaera was nothing like fighting the laistrygonian giant. It was _way_ harder. Minho still managed to hold his own pretty well, or so he thought. He managed to get in close, it was the perfect opportunity for a _perfect_ killing strike. But he slipped on the grass, lost his footing and fumbled, and it looked like the monster was going to strike him directly in the chest. 

Except, Minho felt no pain as he was thrown against the ground. 

And then he saw Chan slumped on the grass, three big claw marks across his chest that were already starting to bleed profusely.

Chan had shoved Minho out of the way and taken the hit himself.

Minho was frozen for a few moments, oh god Chan was bleeding, Chan _wasn’t moving_ , Minho needed to do something or he was next. 

The Chimaera stepped closer to Chan’s body and Minho just saw red.

With a loud battle cry, veins pumping with adrenaline to protect the one he loved, Minho charged forward without a second thought, getting in close once again and plunging his sword deep into the chimaera’s neck and tearing open the monster’s throat. The monster went down quickly, and Minho raced back over to where Chan was lying, carefully picking him up and hurrying towards the barrier.

Once he was across and safe, he made a direct beeline to the infirmary, handing Chan over to Chiron and the other Apollo kids to take care of him. Chiron also insisted that Minho rest and eat some ambrosia, and only then did Minho take a moment to assess himself. He had minor burns on his arm and leg, his graduation gown was singed in several places, and now that he was sitting down, he suddenly felt _exhausted_. Chiron suggested he stay and sleep for a while, regain his strength, and who was Minho to disagree? So he did exactly that.

Chan’s cuts ran petty deep, so he had to stay at the infirmary for a while as he healed. He slept for three days straight, and the moment he woke up, one of the Apollo kids told one of Minho’s siblings who told Minho, and Minho rushed over to visit him.

“How are you feeling?” Minho asked, gently taking hold of Chan’s hand.

“Well I’ve certainly seen better days,” Chan said with a grimace, “I’m pretty sure this is gonna leave a scar.”

“Well I mean, battle scars are hot as fuck, everyone knows that.”

Chan snorted. “Thanks Min. That does make me feel a little bit better.”

“So,” Minho continued, “answer me this; why did you do something so stupid? You could have run to camp and gotten reinforcements.”

“And let you get hurt?” Chan answered, “no way.”

“So you get hurt instead? Why the fuck would you do that?”

“Well...uh. Um.”

Chan was oddly bashful, his ears turning red and a light blushing dusting across his cheeks.

Minho blinked at him.

“I swear to gods,” he said, “if you spout some cheesy ‘oh I realized I loved you back’ bullshit….”

Chan was tellingly quiet.

Minho stared at Chan in utter disbelief.

“Are you kidding me right now?” he asked.

Chan’s face only turned redder, as he avoided eye contact. 

“Well-”

“You liked me back, and you didn’t- gee, I don’t know- _tell me about it?!_ ”

“I didn’t want you to think it was out of pity!”

“Why the hell would I think it was out of pity??”

“Because I already led you on once before!” Chan said, “I didn’t want you to think I was doing it again.”

“But that was last summer,” Minho responded, “I already forgave you for that!”

“Well- I-”

“Why are you so dumb? You’re so fucking dumb. I can’t believe this.”

Minho let out a huff and it became quiet for a while. Chan was looking down at their hands, and Minho just looked out the window, feeling very annoyed.

After several minutes, Chan spoke up again. 

“You haven’t stopped, have you?”

“Stopped what?” Minho asked.

“Having feelings for me.”

Minho was quiet for another minute. He was really tempted to just say “yeah, I moved on”, give Chan a taste of his own medicine. 

But it would be doubly shitty to lie to his best friend.

And besides, wasn’t this everything he’d ever wanted? Why give that up, just for spite?

“No, I haven’t.”

Chan let out a sigh of relief. “Thank the gods. And not to be a broken record, but I really am sorry about before. You honestly really opened my eyes then, it was like I started seeing you in a whole new light.”

Minho sideyed Chan, now interested in what he had to say. “Go on.”

“Well, um, how do I put this into words…” Chan continued, looking even more flustered, “um...for starters, I really started to see you as an adult; since you basically were. And like….I just noticed how you acted around me. You would stare at my mouth, because you wanted to kiss me. You would always sit next to me, because you wanted to be near me. And you looked at me like I was the most gorgeous thing on the planet, because I’m guessing that I am in your eyes. Because you _like_ me. And it made me feel so guilty because I really was such a _dick_ to you and I wish I could go back and do everything differently. And then from there I started to notice how pretty _you_ are, and how fun you are to be around, and how much you make me laugh, and how much I enjoy your presence and your existence, and...yeah. I realized I like you back. But then I worried that you might think it was a move of pity, so I was scared to tell you.”

Minho let out a small laugh and gently squeezed Chan’s hand, which he had still been holding the whole time.

“You really are an idiot…” he said.

“Yeah...I know…”

“But...I wouldn’t object to you being _my_ idiot.”

Chan smiled up at him. “I certainly wouldn’t object either.”

“Hurry up and get better so I can kiss you,” Minho said, standing up and turning to walk out of the infirmary.

“You could always kiss me here, might speed up the healing process. Wait where are you going- Minho wait- wait come back- Minhoooo come baaaack!”

Chan was given the okay to go back to camp activities after another week.

Or, so he told Minho after he hunted him down and pulled him into a kiss, right in front of everyone else. Which Minho pointedly ignored, as he kissed Chan back.

**Author's Note:**

> If you liked it leave a comment and a kudos!  
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